One Less Candle
by La Lune de Fraise
Summary: An innocent angel resides in the sinful city, Salmudena. After suffering from disastrous relationships from those he loved and held so dear, Akito looks to salvation in the form of Minami Itsuki... unless another person can save his soul. Agito appears!
1. Prologue

One Less Candle - Prologue

In Salmudena, the rain never stops. It comes down in rushing torrents during the spring and intermixes with the flurries of snow in the winter, creating a lethal combination of water and ice. But in the summer, the rain is tender, more soothing. Drizzling from the sky, scarcely there, the sun can be seen. On days like these, some quaint citizens of this forlorn city dare to think the showers will cease. That the eternal dampness seeping into the brittle bodies of the broken will disappear. Once. And for all. Within the last room on the seventh floor of La Casa, a housing estate, a beautiful, shaken, desolate youth chooses to hope.

How utterly foolish he is.


	2. Rush

A boy of skin like porcelain lies in a window-less room on an unmade bed. The silken strands of his blue hair are spread across the ratty blanket he uses for a pillow. He possesses a small, slight build; he looks like he has been underfed, and indeed, when was his last meal? He cannot remember. His dark eyes framed with thick lashes dart around the walls, the grimy floor. This box is Akito Wanijima's prison.

Yet at the same time it is not. The owners of La Casa Housing Estate are not so very cruel as to allow their renters a single room; they are close to that, though. Just beyond Akito's cell, there is a narrow hallway that makes his brother, Kaito, have to stoop to walk. To the right, a minute bathroom is designated, in which only a chipped toilet and shower can be used. Farther down is the living room. The couch reeks of the scent of alcohol, sweat, and a faint twinge of vomit from each time Kaito comes back home. He goes to the bar. And he gets mean.

Akito wants to close his eyes forever, forever, forever. He loathes life like this; the poverty, the hunger, and the way his brother has changed. In the corner of his cell, the shredded remains of a photo gather dust. Akito moves and crouches in front of it, looking at Kaito's smiling face, and seemingly, his doppelganger grinning back at him. Had he truly been so joyous before? He curls into a ball, dizzy, and scrunches his eyes closed. He holds his breath, holds his breath, holds his breath… Tears sizzle, threaten to spill, but then Akito remembers why he is still here.

He runs to his bed, lifts up the mattress, and takes out a copy of _Rush_, the AT magazine. Akito stares at the glossy cover for a bit, heart thumping, as his messy-haired idol laughs back. He flips to the feature article and reads with relish. The pain has subsided. For now.

"Itsuki… Minami." Akito whispers.


	3. Flames

Akito is still reading _Rush_ when he hears Kaito slam the door. The comforting face of Itsuki now looks mocking and clownish. Akito jumps, dropping the magazine with a _thunk_. He shivers, shaking, and glances at his door. Sure enough, Kaito is coming.

"Akito!!" bellows Kaito angrily, "Get over here!"

Akito, who is terrified like a trapped animal, obliges. He walks through the long, narrow hallway… past the dingy bathroom… and into the living room. This is where everything begins.

Kaito reclines on the couch, his long, silvery hair trailing behind him. Akito can still smell the aftershave his brother used in the morning, when he went to look for a job. Kaito shrugs of his jacket and lets it fall onto the floor. A small cloud of dust is upturned, but the sound is deafening.

"So. You didn't get hired, huh?" Akito makes a stab at conversation, anything to give him time to escape.

"Fuckers never learn," mutters Kaito, rubbing his tired eyes with one hand. "Gimme a beer, 'Kito!"

Like a good, obedient slave, Akito walks over to the fridge and opens the door. The cold air brings goose-bumps on his arms, and he can't help but notice there isn't anything to eat besides a six pack of Heineken.

"C'mon, kid! What's taking you so long?" Kaito is growing impatient. He sits up now, and Akito takes that as a warning sign. He brings the beer over to his brother, and, as he predicted, one turns into two turns into four.

"Hey… C'mere, 'Kito, sit in yer bro's lap." Kaito pats his knee languorously. _He doesn't have this whip today, _thinks Akito, _maybe he won't hurt me? _He climbs into Kaito's lap, and is struck by how calming, how nostalgic this feels. Akito moves closer. Yes, everything will be alright today. Everything will be alright.

But then he finds himself face to face with Kaito, confined by his thin yet muscular arms. Akito is only fourteen and underdeveloped. He cannot fight with an adult.

"Hey, 'Kito, yer gettin' prettier an' prettier fer a boy, y'know?" Kaito slurs, and then he goes and kisses Akito sloppily. No no no no no no no no… It's happening again, it's happening again. Akito is devastated, and he can't speak.

Kaito's long, calloused fingers begin to move at Akito's smooth back, pulling up his shirt. "Yer beautiful…" murmurs Kaito, moving slowly to the waist of his brother's pants. Akito hates how he doesn't stop, _never _stops, Kaito, how he's so afraid. Every touch makes him feel black inside, used, repulsive. His heart is racing, racing, and his chest feels like it is about to burst.

The heat, the heat, the heat… Kaito is engulfing Akito's world in flames.


	4. Voices

When Akito wakes up in the morning, he finds himself on the couch wrapped in a raggedy blanket slightly torn at the edges

When Akito wakes up in the morning, he finds himself on the couch wrapped in a raggedy blanket slightly torn at the edges. In front of him there is a plate with a piece of golden bread on it, and a glass of orange juice, now lukewarm. _Kaito_... Akito feels a moment of joy, but as he gets up, he realizes he is unclothed. He's let it happen again. He's let Kaito have his _fun_ again.

Ever since Mom died a few years ago, Kaito had been looking after Akito, raising money to the best of his ability. But back then, who, really, would hire a barely legal eighteen-year-old to work in an office? A job with respectable pay? After the first few rejections, Kaito remained strong. He lived, he loved Akito still; but after time passed, he became rebellious and distant, grew his silvery hair long, and threw away proper dress by wearing a tank top each day.

And that was when he began to drink and drink and drink and drink. Until he couldn't think, couldn't see, until all he wanted was cheap love to satisfy his carnal hungers. It didn't matter who it came from, prostitutes, women at the bar, his very own brother. Sometimes he'd be devastatingly angry, and took a liking to beating Akito with his belt when he was drunk. That dark leather belt, Dad's belt, the Whip of Death. Trapped in his own shattering world, Kaito proceeded to drag those around him down with him.

Deep in reverie, Akito munches the bread hungrily, gulping the orange juice with gusto even though it is tepid. He is full, satisfied, his stomach full for once, but something is missing. Akito is hollow and desolate, so he goes to his prison of a room once more.

The _Rush _magazine is still on the floor with Minami Itsuki's face on the cover. Akito picks it up, smiling slightly, and then gasps as he sees the date on the front: _May Issue_. Right now, it's well into June. Akito realizes he has missed the latest installment, and hurriedly tries to find clean clothes to wear. All that is left is a sweatshirt and thin, beige pants. Akito doesn't care, and he carefully climbs out the living room window and down the fire escape.

There is no way he will go out that cursed front door, that demonic gate from which kind people leave and cruel shells of their past selves return. The damn door that marks every time Kaito comes back a changed man. Akito makes it down safely, and runs to the corner deli.

"You want the usual, 'Kito?" Sandy, the beer-bellied, elderly, deli owner, smiles a grin that sends his face into a contortion of wrinkles. Akito, accustomed to it, laughs back.

"I'm sorry I can't pay you this time, Sandy." Akito sighs reproachfully.

"Nah! Don't worry 'bout it, kid," Sandy swats him away, "You're the only one who gets this 'zine anyways. Good brats like you should get nicer stuff, y'know?"

Akito beams heartbreakingly, and Sandy is glad he spends money each month to buy _Rush_. God knows what kind of brother the poor kid has.

Taking the magazine carefully, Akito opens it to the front cover, where the headlines hit him full force: _MINAMI ITSUKI: AT SHOW IN CHILDHOOD HOME, SALMUDENA_. Akito can't breathe can't breathe can't breathe. Itsuki. Minami Itsuki. Is coming here.

Just a few weeks, just a few weeks… _Please_, Akito pleads, _let Itsuki come before Kaito hurts me again._

And right then. Right there. Is when Akito begins to hear the voices.


	5. Golden Eye

Note: The words in italics and bold are Agito

Note: The words in italics and bold are Agito! Yay, he's appeared! XP

--

_**So, the AT bastard's comin' to Salmudena, is he? **_Akito can barely move, he is so surprised; the voice, in his head, it's come back. The voice, a duplicate of his, rings painfully in Akito's head. He walks shakily out of the deli, barely noticing the rain had intensified from the previous drizzle, and- _**Yeah, that's right, bitch, you get outta there. Get outta HERE, damn it! Or show me where Kaito is so I can beat the living shit**_- Akito begins to run.

He reaches La Casa within a few moments, as if his heels are chased by fire, and climbs up the fire escape, helter-skelter. No, the voice hadn't come in a while, everything was supposed to be alright, everything, since Itsuki was coming. The AT show was so close! No, no, no… The pounding in his head intensifies, and suddenly he is plunged into darkness.

_**Hey, you! Akito! Can you see me? Speak up, fucker! C'mon! **_A blurry figure in front of Akito draws near. Akito hasn't a clue where he is, or how he got here, but all he knows is that he is submerged in an inky blackness foreign to him. _**God, you're a messed up motherfucker, know that?! **_The figure… speaks to Akito harshly, scolding him like a teacher would to his student. At once, Akito notices a duplicate of himself standing in front of him. Every physical feature of his is replicated exactly, to the sharpest detail, except for the eyes. Those fearful, fearful eyes.

Those glowing, golden orbs with serpentine slits for pupils; upon first sight, they engrave themselves in Akito's memory forever. They radiate the deepest loathing, anger, pent up frustration, pain.

_A…gito? _Whispers Akito warily, taking a step back.

_**You got that fucking right, fuckup, and don't you forget. I'm here to rescue you from the dump you live in, and your fucking bastard of a brother. **_

_He… He's not that bad! Kaito's trying the best he can! Leave him alone!_

_**Trying the best to fucking RAPE you every time he gets fucking fired, you mean? Huh? Whaddaya say to that, huh? ANSWER ME, DAMN IT!**_

Agito's screams shake and shake and shake Akito's mind. There's water in this black place, water so deep and treacherous Akito is drowning. He is suffocating, clawing at his neck for air, his brain reeling, face dark blue…

Akito wakes, still on the fire escape, and pulls himself shakily through the window, just to fall messily on the floor. All the strength in his body has disappeared, and he is coated in perspiration, still sweating profusely. Akito whips his head around- KAITO!

Isn't there. Thank god. He isn't there. Slightly relieved, Akito tries to drag himself to the bathroom, but fails and ends up crawling on his knees. He sways on his feet in the shabby restroom, latching onto the side of the bath tub. Akito turns on the tap, and scrubs his face with it sluggishly. Done, he gazes into his reflection in the water. What he sees makes him cry out in agony: One of his eyes has become golden, a brilliant gold color, with a slit for a pupil.

_**I'm staying for good, fucker. **_


	6. Parallels

La Lune de Fraise is so sorry for the delays in updates

La Lune de Fraise is so sorry for the delays in updates! Anyhow, will two chapters appease the rumbling crowd? (Or perhaps three if there is a mob with flaming pitchforks.)

--

Akito must hide it, hide it, hide _it_. Hide the terrifying golden eye of his, the only souvenir from that ghastly nightmare, the only thing proving that the existent. Of Agito. Is true.

But Akito can barely move his lips to talk, more less walk or run. He slumps down, deterred. The lights in the bathroom begin to blur in an almost gentle fashion. _Mom_, Akito thinks, _I'm scared right now. Help me… Help Kaito. Mom, come back. _The memories of the murder flood his mind, and oddly, Akito finds them more fearful than Agito's presence.

Akito remembers. He was only a child then, but he remembers. He recalls Kaito's shaking arms trying to shield him from the violence. Mother coming home one day smelling of ritzy perfume, dressed in an elegant silk dress. Thinking, _Daddy will be happy Mommy's so pretty for him_. When the screaming suddenly began.

"WHERE WERE YOU?!" screeched Daddy in a blind rage, holding a dirty bottle by his side, "Ya were seein' that other bastard, WEREN'T ya!"

"No! I wasn't! Stop controlling my life! Henry's only a friend from college, please, just let me go out more…"

"Absolutely not! Yer gonna run away, yeah, you are. Ya whore! Yer mine! An' I can do whatever I want with ya!"

"When I married you, you were never like this. We were always happy, and you _trusted_ me. What happened to that? What happened to everything? What?" Mommy paused here, "Listen. Please… please. For Akito and Kaito's sake since they're only kids... Let's get a divorce."

Daddy stopped talking there. He stopped talking until Mommy stopped breathing. And Akito can see every detail of the moment.

"Dear? I-I-it's because the kids are so young, and I don't want them to be subject to this bad family environment any longer. We can work it out later, I know we can. N-now, is that alright with you?"

Daddy smashed the bottle. That deafening _crash_ of glass signified the start of the screaming, which came from Mommy, Akito, and Kaito.

"W-w-what are you DOING? G-g-get that bottle away from- GET IT AWAY! GET IT AWAY!!"

But Daddy wouldn't stop. Daddy kept cutting Mommy. Daddy didn't even notice when Mommy died. Daddy kept cutting Mommy. Daddy kept cutting Mommy.

Akito wanted to run, knew he'd be killed if he stayed any longer, but there was no strength in his legs. He held onto Kaito with all his might, and Kaito did the same. Oh, Mommy… Mommy… Mommy was no more.

Akito knew what Daddy thought of Mommy. She was far too beautiful, too pure, too wonderful for him. She was a butterfly, and enchantress. Her freedom and grace lured him to her, and he, afraid she would fly away, caged her. Imprisoned her in a home. With two children. And countless maternal responsibilities to take care of. She became his. Yet as time passed, she became none less the lovely, but his hair thinned, his once muscular figure was lost. It was at that point Daddy knew he would never, ever let her go. Til DEATH do them part.

Akito's reveries were broken when he heard Daddy's loud, guttural breathing. Kaito's grip on him loosened as he ran to the back room and Akito froze. Daddy's- no that _man_ was not his father! No, that man was not even a man, he was a beast! The monster's bloodshot eyes focused in on him, and he said, "A… kito. Ya look… just… like… HER!!"

The animal charged, but before he could get to Akito, Kaito came charging out with a shotgun, eyes crazed, his mind and personality changed forever. One shot. That was all it took. And the dragon was slain.

_**So that's why you're so fucked up, right? **_

Startled, Akito has to think for a minute before he remembers who the voice belongs to. Then he laughs. How could he have forgotten so important a person? Mysteriously, Agito laughs as well.

_**But, seriously, you ARE just like your mom. I mean, resemblance otherwise. **_

"Huh? What do you mean?"

_**You are seriously fucking retarded, you know? Kaito's just caging you up and he's got total mental issues with being possessive. This is the same whole thing over again, smartass. **_

Akito is surprised at the parallel with the past and the present. Oddly, he is just slightly happy, in addition to being sad. For this is the first time, in a long time, that he has thought of being like Mother as good. If she was a butterfly, then he is as well. Akito thinks, prays, pleads, that if he has wings, then there might be a possibility to fly away. And be. Free.


	7. Control

_**Don't kid yourself, fucker. Escaping isn't that easy. **_

Akito is slightly displeased at this. "Be quiet, Agito! Can't you let me be happy for a bit?"

_**Nah, my job's to make you fuckin' miserable.**_

Akito is surprised when he notices a bit of teasing in Agito's tone. Perhaps having a friend always with him would be more fun than he previously thought.

_**Don't label me like that, you wuss. Quit being so damn sentimental.**_

Akito smirks to himself. _Agito likes it, _he thinks. "Oh!" Akito suddenly remembers something, "Would you like to have a tour of the apartment?"

_**You are more stupid than I thought. I know everything you know right now, so a tour's pretty freaking pointless, isn't it? **_

"Hmm… I guess you're right, Agito. But it's just so weird. I mean, you're just this voice in my head, but you have so much… character? So I was just wondering if you'd stay there for a, um, long time."

_**You think the only thing I can do is chit chat in your head? Well think again, Akito. Get somethin' to cover your other eye with and I'll show you what I can really do. **_

"You mean the eye that isn't golden?" Akito asks innocently, playing with the hem of his pants.

_**No, genius, the one that's purple- YES the one that isn't golden!**_

"Sheesh, you're being crabby. I guess I'll get an eye patch then from Sandy."

Akito doesn't hear a reply from Agito, so he assumes his plan is approved of. More energetic than ever, he rushes down the fire escape quickly, noting that the sky is beginning to darken. He'd better hurry.

Once he gets to the corner deli, Akito skips up to Sandy, "Hi! Could I have an eye patch?"

Sandy takes one look, and, "Holy Jesus Christ on a sandwich! What'd ya do to yer eye? It was yer bastard brother, wasn't it! Damn, I'm callin' the cops…"

"No! No, Sandy, it wasn't Kaito!" Akito is nervous suddenly, "Please, just give me an eye patch!"

"You… sure you can see outta that thing?"

"Perfectly. But, Sandy, I'm really sorry I can't pay again. Hey, when I get rich, I'll give you twice what I owe, ok?"

Sandy is hit by grave sorrow for a moment, and he sighs heavily. "Don't worry about it, kid. Relax. Live a little." Akito receives a sturdy, cloth patch from Sandy, and leaves, waving.

Back in the apartment, Akito stands in his room, heart thumping. "Alright, Agito, I've got what you wanted. What do I do with it?"

There isn't an answer, and then: _**That Sandy's a good guy… Anyways, put it over your normal eye. **_

Akito does, and is shocked to see things without peripheral vision. "Whoa," he mutters, looking around curiously. He walks to the side of his bed and sits down, rifling through an old issue of _Rush_. And then, everything goes black.

When Akito awakes, he is in a lightless realm, a pit of nothingness. "W-where am I? Agito! Agito! This is the place we met, right? Where are we?"

The blackness begins to dissipate a bit, and then Akito can see a small part of his room. His body is moving, moving… but he isn't controlling it! "What are you doing? Stop!"

_**Hey, Akito, like being the one on the outside now, huh? Heh, fucking rocks being able to walk and talk regularly. Fuck yeah!**_

"So… then I'm the one in… you're mind?" Akito is very startled, to the point where he is dizzy.

_**Yep. Get used to sharin' a body, Akito. What's yours is mine, and what's mine is yours. But still, this body did originally belong to you, so I'll let you have it… some of the time. **_

"What are you going to do now, Agito? And I want to know _why_ you're here in the first place!"

_**Gettin' testy, are we, fucker? Hah! Then let's have some nice introductions. I'm Agito, and don't you fucking forget it. I'm here to help you, understand? **_

"B-but I don't need-"

_**And you know the first thing I'm gonna do? We'll I'll tell ya! I'm going to beat the fucking shit right outta KAITO!! **_


	8. Tornado

Whoop-dee-do, another chapter! Writing fics are more fun than I'd thought... so please Read & Review! XP

**_And you know the first thing I'm gonna do? We'll I'll tell ya! I'm going to beat the fucking shit right outta KAITO!!_**

"No! Please, please, please don't do that!" Akito is alarmed at how bothered he is by his lack of control.

_**If I don't step in, who the hell will? Not YOU, ya sissy! Wait… I hear somethin'…**_

Akito sensed faint footsteps coming up the stairway, and then the jingle of a ring of keys. _It's Kaito, oh crap, what am I going to do?!_ He reaches his hands into the darkness, but feels nothing. Nothing but miles and miles of empty space on either side of him. It is a solitary confinement chamber worth praising. How ironic that this chamber is Akito's mind itself.

"'Kito! 'Kito!" Kaito throws himself into the room, looking happier than ever, a huge grin plastered on his face. His sobriety stuns Agito for a moment that, he doesn't even move. He decides that the bad lighting can hide his eye for the moment, and can immediately tell there's been a change in the Wanijima circumstances. He decides to talk carefully before he fights.

"What is it?!" Agito tries to act joyous as well, talking like Akito would. _**Akito, the way you talk makes me feel like I have fucking duck tape all over my mouth. God. **_Akito huffs angrily.

Surprisingly, Kaito doesn't notice the slight differences in his brother's tone and barrels on. "I got a job! I got a freaking job!" He pauses for a minute, looking extremely proud of himself, "Your big bro's gonna be a _cop_."

_**Fuck. Hmph. Would I beat up a cop? Let's see…**_

"That's fantastic, Kaito!" Agito stops, looking down for a moment, "Does that mean you'll stop… hurting me?"

Kaito's face is stricken. "I…I don't really r-remember, but-"

Agito cuts off the stammering and Kaito simply stares at the fury on his face.

"YOU DON'T FUCKING REMEMBER! STOP THE BULLSHIT, YOU BASTARD! YOU'VE BEEN RAPING ME FOR YEARS!!"

At this point, Agito explodes and launches himself at Kaito, grabbing his shirt collar, and pulling him closer so that their foreheads touch.

"You filthy, sick man. How can you not remember what you did to your brother? How he felt? Get down on your knees and beg for mercy, bitch." Agito hisses, enraged, but when Kaito doesn't respond, he punches him once in the face.

Akito can't believe the force of that hit. Actually, he really doesn't know what to feel. Throughout Agito's shouting, he'd been screaming as well inside. Now, that things had escalated so far, Akito felt glad at how much Agito cared… but in this caring, Kaito was at stake. Mixed up emotions. Tornado. Churning, destroying. And now. The aftermath.

Kaito spits a mouthful of blood onto the floor. He looks at Agito, taking note of the golden eye, now that they're so close. Agito glares back defiantly, daring him to strike back. He even growls low in his throat, exposing sharp canines.

"Who the fuck are you?! What have you done with my brother?!" After saying this, Kaito slams Agito down on the floor, hard. The pain flies through him, electrocuting his nerves. The look in Kaito's eyes is scared. Scared and crazed.

Deep in the darkness, the darkness of the mind… Akito's tears overflow.


End file.
